Welcome to CFO Summit Chicago 2026. We will start with an overview of the day's agenda, followed by a brief icebreaker session designed to help you connect with peers and share your goals and challenges.

We’ll wrap up an engaging day of insights with final reflections from our chairperson, highlighting the key takeaways and themes that defined the summit.

In this hands-on, end-of-day interactive experience, you’ll dive into the four core CFO archetypes, identify your dominant working style, and explore how it shapes the way you lead, influence and make decisions. You’ll move through two breakout rounds: - First, connecting with peers who share your archetype to compare strengths and patterns - Then joining a mixed group of contrasting archetypes to uncover collaboration gaps, challenge assumptions and learn from perspectives radically different from your own. The four CFO archetypes: 1. The Strategic CFO (AKA The CEO’s Strategic Partner): A future-focused business architect who blends financial rigor with enterprise strategy, helping shape markets, models and long-term direction. 2. The Transformation CFO (AKA The Change Agent): A reinvention-driven leader who modernizes systems, processes and structures while managing the people side of change to deliver sustainable evolution. 3. The Digital CFO (AKA The Tech-Forward Pioneer): A technology-enabled strategist who uses automation, AI and real-time data to accelerate insights, improve decisions and transform how finance operates. 4. The Operational CFO (AKA The Process Optimizer): A hands-on efficiency expert who relentlessly improves processes, strengthens controls and enhances daily operational performance across the business.